COUNTY BUDGET SLASHED.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved sweeping cutbacks Wednesday in public health services, law enforcement, mental health and welfare in a far-reaching attempt to balance the county's $16.4 billion budget.

The cuts - the deepest in recent county history at $228 million - include $57 million in the health department, $62 million in the Sheriff's Department, $70 million in welfare, $32 million in mental health, $1 million in libraries and $6 million in the District Attorney's Office.

``I think the board made some very difficult decisions and is stepping up to what is arguably the most serious fiscal crisis this county has faced in a generation,'' board Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky said. ``It was not a pleasant day for the county.

``But we are doing what we have to do to protect our core mission and position ourselves for either disappointment in Washington and Sacramento, or if we are fortunate in the weeks ahead, for better news out of Washington and Sacramento. Our philosophy is to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.''

Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said the 4-1 vote to approve the budget failed the public. He voted against it.

``It was a blow to law enforcement's ability to keep our communities safe,'' Antonovich said.

After an all-day hearing in a boardroom packed with hundreds of people, the supervisors made some last-minute additions before approving the budget.

Additions included using the county's $170 million surplus to restore $7 million to county libraries. The county had proposed to either close 15 libraries and one bookmobile or reduce hours at existing libraries by a third.

The supervisors also used the surplus to pay $73,700 to hire an embalmer at the Coroner's Office to embalm bodies that have not been identified or whose relatives cannot be located. Earlier this year, officials discovered that rats had been gnawing on bodies in long-term storage.

The health cuts are the first steps county officials are taking to close a projected health department deficit of $800 million by 2005-06.

The board voted to cut $57 million from the health budget, which includes conversion of High Desert Hospital in Lancaster to an outpatient clinic and the closure of 11 health clinics, including ones in North Hollywood, Tujunga, Pico Rivera, Azusa, Bell Gardens, Alhambra and Norwalk. The plan also closes school-based clinics and includes a $15 million cut to 100 private health clinics with which the county contracts.

``This is a horrible situation we are in,'' Yaroslavsky said. ``Nothing pains me more than what we are doing to our clinics with this action. It's a tragedy of monumental proportions to reduce care to the three million uninsured people in our county.''

The conversion of High Desert Hospital and closure of the health clinics is expected to take place in October.

In 45 days, the board will hold hearings to give the public a chance to comment on the closures of the health facilities.

If no new federal or state funding is obtained, the supervisors expect to make further cuts in October, including cutting 100 beds at Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center, converting UCLA-Olive View Medical Center in Sylmar and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance to outpatient clinics and laying off 1,800 health care workers.

Dr. Lawrence Stock, assistant director of the emergency room at Antelope Valley Hospital, said the health system in the county is in serious trouble and closing the emergency room at High Desert Hospital will make matters worse.

``The elephant that nobody is talking about is what is going to happen to the patient,'' Stock said. ``The system is at the breaking point now. We have ambulances forming lines out the door. We are working our butts off and every single nook and cranny of the emergency room is filled.''

Dr. Thomas Manning, an Antelope Valley doctor for the past 30 years, said Antelope Valley hospitals can be self-sustaining.

``What we need is some time to develop the plans,'' Manning said. ``We are asking that up until the October period we will be able to present definitive plans to make this hospital self-sustaining, and then the question of closure will be moot.''

Dora Soto, a patient representative at the High Desert Hospital Advisory Council, said she is concerned about the long drives facing patients if hospitals are closed.

``The closet hospital to High Desert is Olive View Medical Center in Sylmar 50 miles away,'' Soto said. ``If you close that, the nearest one is County/USC, which is 87 miles away.''

The supervisors approved a motion by Antonovich calling for Department of Health Services Director Dr. Thomas Garthwaite to come back to the board July 26 with an analysis of revenue generating proposals to preserve High Desert Hospital.

Lark Galloway Gilliam, director of the Community Health Council, said the plan to close clinics and convert hospitals to outpatient facilities will reverberate throughout the county health system.

``You cannot cut without shutting three-quarters of the system and the private system also,'' Gilliam said. ``This may be the greatest challenge of your political career.''

The Sheriff's Department cuts involve closure of Biscailuz Recovery Center and Deputy Leadership Institute, elimination of the Asian crime and cargo theft units, partial elimination of the Community Oriented Policing Services and the town sheriff program. In addition, the department plans to close the Century Regional Detention Center in Lynwood.